Signs of rain

Signs of rain, Manila, July 2010

Natural lighting

Lightning storm, Manila, July 2010

What did you do on Saturday night?

After the fun and games of Typhoon Conson earlier in the week, we just had a rather long thunderstorm roll through. It was putting on a great show and time and direction were just right for some photos from the back garden.

They don't really stand up to fine scrutiny - focussing in the dead of night against a dark sky proves to be rather tricky.

SoFoBoMo 2010: and another one

Although I didn't really need to, I felt like putting together a second submission with some of the "rejects" from LineCurveTexture, and so The Other Things was born. I didn't compromise on selecting for editting - these are the images that I would select otherwise but that didn't fit in any way into the original project.

I was also trying to get a background transparency to work with pdf 1.4 but to no avail. The intention was that the background frame would disappear when viewing so that the images would be nicely centred on the screen with a natural border.

I'm pretty sure this should be possible, as per pdf sepcs, but can't for the life of me figure out how to get it to work properly. I think it's maybe a viewer issue (yet I use Adobe's reader) and no amount of settings adjustments seem to work.

SoFoBoMo 2010: done

I've finally completed my first submission for the year. Find it here.

Some points worth noting about my experience in doing the layout:

I was limited to an all electronic process, not having commissioned a printer since moving house (fully 6 months ago). I normally print the pages on small paper swatches and rearrange the on the floor/table.
This led to problems. Because of the multiple image sizes, I had a 2-dimensional problem as i looked to balance subject and image size across the whole book. equal sized thumbnails are not suited to this. The other major headache is the number of images: about 100. This makes it hard to keep track of them all while scrolling back and forth on the screen.
As a result, the actual layout of the spreads took about twice as long as it should.

I've also realised that the multiple page size idea is better suited to larger page sizes. here it works OK, and I could get a way with a few less than perfect pictures due to the smaller sizes. For a printed version, I think I'd want twice the page size.

Page size is also an interesting challenge. having both portrait and landscape orientation actually makes it trickier to select a page size. Life would be so much easier if I'd picked all the large images in one orientation and all the small ones in the other. Then I could pick a larger size but rectangular page.

I also surprised myself about double-truck (spread across the page fold). With the right subject and composition i think is can work quite well, as it does here. But that's just my opinion.

Please feel free to leave comments on what you think.

Sometimes it's all an accident

Manila, June 2010

A case in point. Carefully composed and shot as black and white. The colours are all over the place but that was never the intention. Created with the project in mind.

As I started running through the processing steps, this jumped out at me after only the first couple of moves. Just right, without it ever being the intention. No good like this for the book, but just right as a single image. A complete accident, which I may not have found if I'd run the development steps in a different order.

SoFoBoMo 2010: the editing process

Manila, June 2010
One of the SoFoBoMo 2010 rejects

As a progress report, I thought it might be useful to some to go through the edit ting process I've been using. I don't do bulk edits in this way very often and so SoFoBoMo is also an opportunity for me to hone my skills in that area, too. here is the step-by-step:

1. Having imported all the photos and catalogued as normal (I had 527 frames taken), I make first cut selections. I'm using Lightroom exclusively for processing and editing as it's a quick and easy one stop shop for the whole workflow. First cut is a fast process - anything that seems like it fits the theme and appears properly composed, exposed and in focus. 226 picked, took about 15 minutes.
2. Work on the first few to develop the visual look, exposure, toning, contrast etc. That takes a few minutes per photo, maybe I spent an hour sorting that out. The key parts of the development got turned into Lightroom presets, especially the toning, which speeds up the rest of the work.
3. Work through the first-cut to pick the ones to edit. Again, pretty fast and I develop a lot, rather than waste time mulling over selection. With the presets developed I spend only a couple of minutes on most photos. A few have local adjustments which take a bit longer but I doubt I spent more than 10 minutes on any one frame. As this is about a fast turn-around, I want good not perfect works of art. And consistency is more important to me than a few individual highlights. 102 edited.
4. I developed a Smart Collection to gather up the edits as they were completed, I'll use the collection for the final sorting and selection. I'm not into the book layout proper yet but I have a few distinct page forms in mind: double-truck, full bleed, single page, multiple per page. The 102 will get ratings based on likely page type and sorted into order of pages in the collection. I may or may not use them all.
5. From there, It'll be new export presets to turn the edits into the final images for the book. Part of that preset will be automated numbering and filing so they're all in order in a separate folder on my computer. Having them sorted that way speeds up entry into the book layout.

Even though I've been working on editing all week, I've actually spent very little time each day. 100 at, say, three minutes each is only 5 hours of work to get to the final cut plus the original hour to get the visual look right, meaning about an hour a night this week.

SoFoBoMo 2010: contacts part 4

These are the last (I hope) of the frames from this year's shooting. I've also processed most of the previous frames, so I already have 60 first-cut selections. Overall, this is probably the most I've had for a single SoFoBoMo book and will give me plenty of flexibility for the final product.

SoFoBoMo 2010: contacts part 3

The contacts from today's photography from around the house. My plans for going out this afternoon were rudely interrupted by a thunderstorm.



The work on my book for this year is progressing well. One more trip out for some more photographs should give me plenty to select some good shots and I've got about 3 weeks to work on the layout.

Raising the bar

Manila, June 2010

Some photos I've seen recently and some things I've read had me musing about the nature of the qualities and quality of a photograph.

What is a good photograph? And is a good one today, going to be a good one tomorrow? The thing that set me off have been some observations (mine and others') relating to digital making photography easy. For sure, compared the the days of film, more people can produce photos that are properly focussed, colour balanced and exposed. Objective measures of good. But is that good enough. I think not. now that we expect more from our cameras and sensors, so we (should) expect more from the final product. Not quite right isn't going to be acceptable.

But technical results aren't everything. Photography can be as much about content as execution. Not always but sometimes. Deliberately out of focus, or alternative exposures or grabbed shots without perfect composition can all pass muster. Maybe not as much as before - digital offering the opportunity to take many more exposures means many more chances to get things right. But there is still room for the artistically casual style.

The biggest benefit that I think digital is offering to the masses is a greater ability to precisely execute intent, which is an excellent measure of quality (but by no means the only one). And good photographers are, by inference, those who consistently achieve their intent in the final photographs. Intent is a broad church, and I think digital opens up a wider range of possible outcomes for intent than ever before. That can also make digital more demanding, the auto-everything approach won't cut it, and the ever increasingly complex devices that cameras are becoming can make it harder to find a way through the maze of controls.

Therein is the dilemma of quality photography. While auto cameras make it easier to achieve objectively measurable higher quality, that has placed higher demands, requiring a deeper understanding of the machine and the process to achieve good results on a relative scale - good may no longer be good enough.

No frame left behind

Manila, June 2010

As I was sorting through the weekend's pictures for selections to include in the SoFoBoMo project, I realised that i was editing out a lot that were actually quite good. Mainly they are being rejected as colour images in a black and white project. However, there are enough that I could put together an entirely separate submission, with an entirely different look and feel. So that is what I'm going to do - shoot for the main project but pick up appropriate rejects for something different.
Maybe it will lead me to some insights about the things unseen when I'm out taking pictures. While the rejects were shot with one thing in mind, they're turning out to be something quite different after the fact.

SoFoBoMo 2010: contacts part 2

The second batch from yesterday's shooting.

SoFoBoMo 2010: contacts part 1

As promised, contact sheets of my raw images for this year's project. Click each set to see it bigger.

On a SoFoBoMo roll

I started my SoFoBoMo project today, going out and getting in the first batch of photos. Despite a short session, I got 287 frames to get me going. The most I've shot in one go for some time, helped enormously by my forward planning. It's also yielded probably enough to complete the project (although I'll be looking for more and better) which takes the pressure off. As I'm focussing more on the book part than the photo part, I don't need to be so choosy about completing a story or ultimate image quality.

I thought it would be worth sharing, for those new or struggling with this, the forward planning I did that helped make this first photo expedition easy:
1. Selecting a suitable subject. My book title "LineCurveTexture" is an easy way to encompass numerous forms of abstract image which makes getting the 35 relatively easy. that was important for me this year as I want more time for the book design. In the past, I've focussed more on story and kept the book simple.
2. Selecting a suitable location. Given the subject and way I'd be shooting, I had a good location in mind - in the modern vernacular a target rich environment. There are also 2 other ready locations I can use to gather more.
3. Selecting suitable equipment. In this case I'm hand-holding my 100mm macro lens.Abstract images using a macro lens means from a relatively small area I can gather a large number of different images. I only have to move a few inches in any direction to get whole new views.

Bringing all three of these together - subject, location, equipment - makes the photography part relatively easy. And I put some though into making it so.

Whatever your goal is, putting some thought into these three aspects, keeping it quite simple and choosing them to work together will greatly improve the success rate for gathering up enough photos.

As has been done in the past, I'll be posting my out of camera images as contact sheets so you can see the process as it happens.

Under starter's orders, they're off

The official announcement has gone up for the start of SoFoBoMo 2010. The start time is 00:01 on 1st June wherever you are - local time to give everyone an equal chance. Of course, you don't need to start right away just so long as you finish by the end of July.

If you've not already registered, why not?

24 hours to go

Just 24h until SofoBoMo 2010 officially starts. Expect an official announcement on the SoFoBoMo website when it happens.

Of course you can start any time in the 2 month window, as long as you're finished and submit your entry by the end of 31st July. If you want to get full advantage of the 31 day window, don't start any later than 1st July.

For my part, I'll be starting next Sunday 6th June, I expect. That gets me in early and gives me chance to get in a second book if the opportunity arises (although I'm not expecting it to do so).

The rocket moon

Moon shot 3, Manila, May 2010
98% waning

A bit of fun with the camera this evening, shooting for the moon. As it's nearly full and I knew it would be rising such that I would have a good shot from the upstairs balcony between the treee branches, I decided to have a go.

I didn't realise how quickly the moon moves until I tried photographing it. 500mm + 1.4 TC gives a narrow field of view, but even so, a series in rapid succession gives noticeable shift across the frame.

I can see this becoming a print for the wall.

Choosing a lens kit

I've been enjoying Mike Johnston's posts on lens kits (part 1 and part 2). It's thinking I've been through many times. I thought I'd share my kit development.

It all started with the basic kit zoom as he describes. My first SLR was purchased in 1996 just after graduation. I bought the basic Canon kit -a lot of camera for relatively little money at the time (now you can get 10x the camera for the same actual money as then). Multi-purpose zoom (35-80, I think). Got the job done, until i got into wildlife photography. So I went long - a 70-300mm being the cheapest way into long reach. With limited means, that proved a nice combination. I did get a wide angle converter for the shorter lens but it's seen precious little action. I just don't see the world in wide angle and these days it's easy enough to stitch panoramas if I want that sort of thing.

However, much like Mike, I think 2 lenses generally suffices but that'll be two different for each scenario. I have many two lens kits:
The walk-around kit (actually a choice between 2 - I carry only the one)
The indoor kit
The rangefinder kit
the LF kit
The sports kit
The travel kit
The landscape kit
The cycling kit
The wildlife kit

You get the picture. I have a trunk full of cameras and lenses. But I mainly carry 2 lenses at a time, sometimes 3, although mostly one of those three is neglected. The selection I have also include a number of primes, some good, some frustrating (e.g. my 50mm f/1.8 is frustrating: all electronic, all plastic, difficult to focus but it was cheap).

So a pair for any given situation and enough choice the cover the lot.

If I was forced into just 2? Tricky. Excluding the wildlife (where the 500mm is invaluable), I reckon my 17-55 and maybe an 85 or 135 would do the job (although I own neither of those primes). Or my 70-200 of the current stock. Force me to go prime? then I'd stick with the rangefinder and the 40mm and 75mm. As nice combo for a wide range of situations.

I o see the attraction of micro four-thirds, however. Small cameras and small lenses for the longer reach I like. If a decent camera comes along, I'd snap it up with a couple of lenses to cover most of my going about, travelling applications.

Picking a project

Normally I've got a bunch of project ideas and I already have several long-term projects on the go but this year I've been struggling for ideas for SoFoBoMo. Finally I've hit on a good idea that will be easy to photograph so that I can focus on the book making bit. It also should mean I can avoid too much time outside as right now the weather is far too hot to be wandering around for hours.

I'm not going to reveal the project details just yet - I'll save that for when I get started. Looks like just the one submission this year, too (compared to the 2 in 2008 and 4 last year, that makes it seem like I'm slacking).

Connections

Recently on TOP was one of the "Random Excellence" posts, highlighting a series of Vietnam war shots published by the Boston Globe. looking through them I realised that this shot

From Boston Globe's "The Big Picture"
South Vietnamese marines line beaches and swim out to ships, fleeing from the northern port city of Da Nang on March 29, 1975 before its fall to the Viet Cong and north Vietnamese. This picture was taken as some marines successfully fled, abandoning scores of weapons, vehicles and even a helicopter. In the foreground, men on LSTs (Landing Ship, Tank) prepare to throw rope to marines coming up on inner tubes. Only a fraction of the city's 100,000 defenders were evacuated before its fall. (AP Photo)

was taken on the same day as this one:


The latter being me, taken a few hours later and half way around the world.

Rather sobering.

Sounding off topic

Nothing to do with photography, I've a new blog as a place for me to air stuff that I've been thinking about. Rantings and ramblings, stuff I might debate down the pub etc. saves it getting all pent up in my brain. But it would also be good if some conversation/debate/argument came of it. You won't agree with most stuff I write - I think in a different way to other people. And if you want to stick to photography, no need to go anywhere.